Orange Jello Salad Recipe - These Old Cookbooks (2024)

FAQs

What happened to Jello salads? ›

Savory Jell-O salads fell out of fashion, replaced by tossed salads and a fad for sun-dried tomatoes. This was also when the efforts of the women's movement began to bear fruit: Women were entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers, and more and more women were heads of households.

Jello salads are a common feature of US communal meals such as potlucks, most probably because they are inexpensive and easy to prepare. The salad has a strong regional presence in Utah and surrounding states (the Mormon Corridor), especially among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Beat cream cheese in a bowl until smooth; fold into gelatin. Add cottage cheese, fruit co*cktail, pineapple, oranges, apple, banana, cherries, and walnuts; mix well. Pour into a mold or dish and refrigerate until completely set, at least 1 hour.

Bromolain in pineapple, papain in papaya and actinidin in kiwi are all enzymes capable of breaking down proteins, hence the warning that these fruits cannot be used in Jell-O. But canned fruits are fine because the pasteurization process they undergo destroys the proteolytic enzymes.

Raw pineapple and raw papaya should never be added to a gelatin (Jello) salad or mold. Enzymes in the fruit prevent the gelatin from setting up (getting firm). Loose salad greens should be stored between 36F and 41F. This keeps them crisp and fresh, but prevents freezing.

Jello has 3 main ingredients: water, sugar, and protein (in the form of gelatin). As such, it hydrates you, is easy to digest, and gives your body energy and resources for healing. Jello is being used in some nursing homes as a way to hydrate patients who may have trouble drinking liquid water.

Jell-O shifted to single-serve cups and more convenient options as competition for snacks and desserts grew. Kraft in the early 2000's shifted the focus of Jell-O's advertising away from kids and toward adults. It pitched sugar-free Jell-O, for example, as a treat for Atkins dieters.

Utah is famously known for its per capita consumption of Jell-O—so much so that two decades ago, in 2001, the Utah State Legislature voted to name Jell-O its official state snack. But apart from Utahns' hearty consumption of Jell-O, the roots of the connection are shrouded.

Too much sugar in the recipe can weaken or inhibit the gel so never add more than the recipe states. Likewise, an enzyme called bromelain, found in fresh or frozen pineapple, kiwi, and papaya can cause the gelatin to break. Use only canned versions, since the enzyme is deactivated during cooking.

Nonetheless, I informed my mother that yes, Jell-O is indeed making a comeback. Today, Solid Wiggles — a business with a decidedly millennial aesthetic operating out of Kit in Brooklyn and online through Goldbelly — creates Jell-O cakes that are often boozy and always beautiful, selling for $100ish a pop.

Why did Jell-O lose popularity? ›

“Jell-O salads started to look unsophisticated and kind of an antique. They started to look a little silly.” Jell-O sales peaked in 1968 and then begin a decline of about 2% of a year for two decades, according to Jell-O biographer Wyman. By 1987, the company sold about half as many boxes as it did two decades prior.

People were still eating colorful gelatin, but they were no longer serving it as a main course as frequently as they used to. These days, it's more of a quirky novelty snack than an accepted meal option.

Feedstock availability for gelatin in the U.S. is anticipated to remain tight in 2022 because of the pandemic, resulting in supply constraints such as trucker shortages and high absenteeism in the meat rendering industry, resulting in lower slaughter rates and high levels of wastage in the meat rendering process.

The first popular Jell-O salad was Perfection Salad, invented in 1904 by Mrs. John E. Cook of Pennsylvania (via Recipe Curio). While Mrs.